This Saturday, hallowed Lambeau Field plays host to an exhibition match between Premier League champion Manchester City and Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich. This will be the first-ever professional soccer match held at Lambeau, and for good reason: The field isn’t big enough.
Bad news, soccer fans. Lambeau Field isn't wide enough for the #WorldCup https://t.co/xJKlkXZE3J
— Packers News (@PGPackersNews) August 16, 2017
Many European clubs come to the United States every preseason to promote their brands and put themselves in front of one of the largest sports markets in the world. These tours often come branded as their own tournament to add intrigue or a thinly veiled layer of importance. However, for this weekend’s matchup in Green Bay, Man City and Bayern will be playing a true friendly match, no strings attached.
This is due to the fact that Lambeau Field is simply not large enough to hold a full-size soccer field that adheres to FIFA’s standards. As a result, no FIFA-recognized matches can be held at Lambeau Field. To work around this, the two European giants will be playing a completely unaffiliated match purely for the marketing benefits.
For those hoping to see @ErlingHaaland @ManCity last night at @nrgpark , Pep Guardiola mentioned limited training sessions and not wanting to take risk at this point. Likely to play against @FCBayernUS at Lambeau in Green Bay. #SoccerMatters
— Glenn Davis (@GlennDavisSoc) July 21, 2022
Both sides fielded strong lineups in their matches on Wednesday night. Man City saw off Club América 2-1 thanks to two goals from Kevin De Bruyne. Bayern won its contest as well, defeating DC United 6-2 with both Sadio Mané and Matthijs de Ligt scoring on their debuts. The match in Green Bay could be an opportunity for Erling Haaland to make his debut for the Citizens after he remained on the bench for the entirety of the match against América.
